The Sprout: Western farms beating the clock on seeding

Seeding across Western Canada is going ahead at a record pace, with farmers planting their crops at the fastest rate in a decade. As of Tuesday, more than half the region’s farmland had been planted thanks to dry conditions, and as Reuters reports, the early planting bodes well for a large harvest this autumn.

Ontario craft distillers are seeking changes to laws that date back to Prohibition days. While it’s a relatively straightforward process for small brewers and wineries to set up shop and sell small batches of specialized product, spirit makers must pay fees and additional taxes to both the federal and provincial governments. As the Canadian Press reports, Ontario spirit brewers want that to change.

Also in Ontario: lower provincial bee deaths. As The Western Producer reports, a preliminary report drafted by the Ontario Beekeepers Association says apiaries in the province are reporting winter losses of 30 to 35 per cent – down from 58 per cent in 2014.

Canada’s national horse is on the verge of extinction after an international agency raised the breed’s status from ‘critical’ to ‘threatened’. CBC News reports the ‘Canadian horse’ — a unique breed descended from two stallions and 20 mares sent over by King Louis XIV of France in 1665 — is at risk because of the economic downturn, urbanization and a fascination with show horses. There are currently about 2,000 Canadian horses in Canada.

A veteran of the Ottawa cattle lobby is the new chief executive officer of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association. On Tuesday, the association announced it had hired Ryder Lee – a familiar face in Ottawa beef and agriculture circles – as the head of the provincial cattle association, which will now be based in Regina. Lee worked with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association in Ottawa for the past nine years.

Internationally:

Reuters reports a group of Senate democrats — in a stunning move — banded together Tuesday to block debate on Trade Promotion Authority for the Trans Pacific Partnership – with major implications for Canadian agriculture. The White House talked down the day’s developments, with a spokesman telling reporters the outcome in the Senate was nothing more than a “political snafu”.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its highly-anticipated supply and demand report Tuesday, triggering a drop in oilseeds markets thanks to an expectation of higher than average soybean stocks in 2015-2016. As The Western Producer writes, prices are also being pressured by rapid seeding in both the U.S. and Canada. For complete coverage of the USDA report, here’s a handy breakdown by Farms.com.

A new report pitting the Australian and Canadian grains industries against each other has exposed a number of growing inefficiencies in the Australian supply chain. As ABC rural reports, while the cost of getting grain to port is cheaper in Australia, the report found that until the Aussie system is more transparent Canada will continue to increase its Asian market share.

An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu struck an egg farm in Nebraska for the first time Tuesday, as the disease continues to devastate poultry operations across the United States. As Reutersreports, the case in Dixon County, Nebraska, brings the number of states affected by the outbreak to 16 — and the U.S. tally of birds that have either died or will be killed to 32 million.

China’s biggest grain trader, COFCO, has taken its next step in developing a major competitor in the international grain world. Sources close to the deal tell Reuters COFCO will merge its main Dutch holdings via a joint venture with China International Corp into a new entity called COFCO International holdings. The new company will be managed by newly-hired Noble Agri CEO Matt Jansen.

Noteworthy:

Journalism powerhouse Frontline has launched an in-depth investigation into a 2013 outbreak of salmonella in U.S. chicken. In multiple cases, public health officials had linked the bacteria back to chicken from Foster Farms — the biggest poultry producer on the West Coast, a link that Food Safety and Inspection Service officials had failed to make in past years. As Frontline discovered, they were looking in the wrong place.

China is now the world’s third largest producer of cow’s milk by weight – despite the fact most of its population is lactose-intolerant. As Quartz reports, the Asian superpower is also importing more liquid milk than ever before, with imports in 2014 up 78 per cent.

And, as the Christian Science Monitor reports, seed libraries have become a popular way for gardeners to share seeds with others in their community. But a recent USDA investigation has thrown the legal status of seed libraries across the country into question.

Two kickers for you this morning, both related to new technology. The first is for gadget-lovers who might also be dreaming about updating their kitchen. Ikea has unveiled its refrigerator-free vision for future kitchens, complete with a digitized surface that can pull up recipes and nutritional information based on ingredients placed on its countertop.

Finally — the huge potential for the use of drones in both agriculture and news media is not new. But as CBC News shows us, a drone can be a pretty handy tool to capture the demolition of an old grain elevator in Saskatchewan.